The Somerset head lice advice pack explains:
- What head lice are
- How to detect them
- How to treat them using wet hair combing or insecticidal
shampoos.
- What to do if you keep getting re-infected with head
lice.
- Issues affecting school children with head lice.
In Somerset we have distributed over 1,500 advice packs to GPs,
health visitors, school nurses and schools in the hope that
parents and children will have a clearer understanding of the
problem and how regular wet hair combing can be an effective and
cheap way of tackling this itchy problem when it occurs.
Head lice seldom cause health problems other than itching of
the scalp. However, parents, children and adults frequently
over- react, albeit understandably, demanding the return of the
school ‘nit nurse’ or believing that repeated use of costly
insecticidal shampoos is the only effective way to prevent and
combat infection.
Health professionals and teachers are eager to explain that
head lice should be regarded as a community and not a school
problem. The extent of infestation in the community is unknown,
but parents of young children frequently spot the problem first
after seeing the lice or their eggs amongst their child’s
hair.
Head lice may be seen on younger children first as they tend
to have more head to head contact during play which permits the
small 2-3 millimetre wingless parasite to be spread by crawling
from one child’s head to another.
It is hoped that this guidance will aid all involved
in the management of head lice.
Contents
Download the full head
lice advice pack (PDF 43Kb).
Further Information
(Download a free copy of Adobe
Acrobat Reader to view PDF documents)
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